It was 4 o'clock in the morning when I received the phone call．
“This is the emergency room calling and your son was just  36 in with severe burns on his face，neck and arms．We have called for a（n）  37  and are going to fly him to the burn unit in Seattle．” Seattle was 350 miles from his college，so we knew immediately this was  38 ．
The doctor described the  39 ，which caused the burns．At 6 am，our son and his friends decided to barbecue hamburgers in the courtyard of their apartment．When they   40  the charcoal（木炭），it burst into flames because they had sprayed too much gasoline（petrol）．The flames  41 my son’s shirt tail and shot from his waist to well over his head．
  42 ，one of the boys was quick-minded，grasped my son，and  43 him on the grass．While it saved his life，it was not in  44  to save him from severe burns and the terrible scars（傷疤）．
After he  45 from the treatments，the doctors told him they would not do plastic surgery（整容）for 6 months  46 it takes that long for the skin to stop shrinking and wrinkling．So，he had to return to college with scars typical of severe burns．
When I was a child, my mother told my sister，who had a 10-inch, very 47__ scar on her arm，“Nancy，if you ignore the scar，other people will ignore it．It does not mean they will not  48 it，but it means it will not matter to them if it doesn’t matter to you．’’
I  49 this wisdom on to my son．He took my advice to 50 and returned to school with his head held high--glad he was alive．
By the end of the six-month waiting period，he decided that the scars did not  51 , sohe made the  52 to give up any plastic surgery．
We all have “scars” that we believe  53 people to keep away from us．And we spend a lot of time thinking that if only we looked different，or dressed differently，people would like us better． 
But you see，people will only judge you by your looks，or your clothes，if you are judging yourself by these same  54 standards．Put your imperfections out of your mind and concentrate on what you value  55 yourself，and your beauty will shine through．

My friend Michelle is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other  __1 , including her “sixth sense”, that she seldom gives the impression (印象) that she’s  2__   anything. It’s really amazing.
Michelle  3  her children pretty much like the rest of us, except that she isn’t too hard on them. Her children really benefit a lot from her  4 __attitude. She knows when to clean the house, and she moves around so fast that 5 often don’t realize she’s blind.
I 6   this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very   7  about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was  8  excited about her finger-painting project.
“Mom, guess what?” said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to 9 colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle  10  with us”. 
To my great  11 , my child had learnt about color from a blind friend! Then Kayla continued, “Michelle told me my   12  showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment (成就). She really   13  what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never known how good finger paints felt  14  Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.
I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never come  15  in conversation. When I told my daughter Michelle was blind, she was   16  for a moment. At first, she didn’t believe me. “But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla  __17 . I knew my child was _18  because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her art work. Michelle had also “heard” Kayla’s 19 in her work.
We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Michelle did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my __20__.” Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.

Several years ago, we moved into the apartment where we live now. When my friends helped me move in, the downstairs neighbors began to  16 about the noise. I could do  17 about it. After all, noises are unavoidable(不可避免的).How can anyone move in  18 .
Still  19 ,the complaints continued on a daily basis—well after the first day. We walked “too loudly”down the stairs, we laughed too often, we opened and closed the door too many times…They had many  20 to complain.
Nobody can stand the endless complaints and quarrels. I soon learned that they had  21 the last few families who lived above them by the same way. So I had the information I needed and I tried to  22  every situation carefully.
I tried to walk in  23 to avoid any possible noises. Whenever they called  24 came to the door with a complaint, no matter how unreasonable, I simply listened. From their confused expressions, I could imagine that they had never expected to get a   25 attitude from me.
Of course, it was hard to keep calm but my sister and I  26 . I told my sister that we were going to be pleasant and  27  them to change their attitude to neighbors. I explained to her that they probably felt  28 in their lives because they are common people.   29 , they were always looking for a   30 to show their power so that nobody could look down upon them. I continued smiling and greeting them as I saw them, much to their  31 .On more than one occasion(不止一次), I ended up  32 them. They thanked me before they left.
Unexpectedly, the next time I saw them, they all smiled and  33 friendly. We had a short but pleasant  34 . Ever since then, they’ve been very pleasant neighbors, and we’ve become good  35 .

When I was a sixth grader, kids were separating into groups, but I wasn't sure where I belonged．
Our teacher gave us a task called "secret friends" for the coming week．We were supposed to do nice things   1  our friends without letting them know who was doing it．We could leave   2  notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks．Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we   3  a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days．
Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving   4  instead of notes．Everyone was getting cool presents except me．My friend followed the teacher's   5  without a fault．I received nothing but handmade cards with nice words about me．
On the last morning, I finally got a package．When I   6  it, the girls around all   7 ．It was perfumed powder, an "old lady" gift．My face went red．
I tried to forget about the   8  gift, but when the same girls   9  it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined in, "How stupid! My grandmother wouldn't   10  want it．" The girls laughed at my   11  and filed out of the bathroom．Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers  12    I thought about my words．It wasn't   13  like me to say things like that．
"I'm your secret friend．" It was Rochelle．" I' m sorry about the gift," she whispered to me, tears   14   down her face．
From a poor family, she was a   15  at school for those with rich parents．Yet she just took all the   16  and the horrible treatment silently．
I was sick to my stomach as my   17  words ran through my mind．She had heard everything．How could I have been so cruel?
Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury（奢侈品）
And I had   18  everything for her．
I told her that I had only said those things to try to   19  .
"We aren't that different from each other, are we?" She smiled   20 ．Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine．

We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. 36 that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly 37  her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck.
At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my  38 . I enjoyed having it, but I said: “Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last.
After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: “ Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck.”
My heart sank and my mind was 39 with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: “Here is a chance to show Holly 40  you really love. She’ll never forget it.”
The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van (搬運車). In her inexperience, she had  41 _the brakes and the gas pedal. Holly was unhurt  42  but when I reached her, she was crying and saying：“Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.
Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes moistened(濕潤) and she said: “That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and  43 a log that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me.”
Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of the night. It was a deep wound on her  44 .
I remember how sad Holly was the night she crashed our truck, and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly  45  on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than any piece of  46 .
I repaired the van, but the dent(凹陷) in my truck is still there today. Every day it reminds me of what really 47  in my life.

Long time ago, there was a farmer who lived with his daughter. A young man fell in love with the farmer’s beautiful daughter and wished to   36  her. One day, he went to the farmer to   37  his permission. The farmer looked at him and said, “ Guy, stand out in that  38 . I’m going to release (釋放)  39  bulls, one at a time. If you can   40  the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter.”
  41  , the young man got out and stood in the field,   42 the first bull. The barn（牛棚） door   43  and out came the biggest bull that he had ever seen. He  44   that one of the next bulls had to be a better  45  than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull   46  .
A few   47  later, the barn door opened again. Unbelievable! The young man had never seen any bull so  48  and fierce as this one in his life. It stood there, pawing（扒） the   49 and eyeing the young man. “ What the next  50 was like ? It had to be a better choice than this one,” he thought. He let the bull pass through again.
The door opened a third time. A  51 came across the young man’s face. This was the weakest bull that he had ever seen. “ This one was my bull,” he   52  to himself. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and   53    at just the exact moment. He threw his hands to catch ...... But to his  54  , the bull had no tail. Life is full of opportunities.  55   catch the first one.

I remember vividly that first English class in the last term of high school. We boys (there were no girls in the school) were   16  expectantly for the new teacher to appear. Before long, through the door came a tall ordinary-looking man  17  about 40. He said shyly,  “Good afternoon, gentlemen.” His  18 had a surprising tone (語氣) of respect, almost  19  he were addressing （向---講話）the Supreme Court (最高法院)20   a group of youngsters. He wrote his  21  on the blackboard---Wilmer T. Stone-- ,and  22  sat on the front of his desk.. “Gentlemen,” he began, “We are now this  23   ---your last---to continue your study of 24  . I know we shall  25  learning with and from one another. We are going to learn  26  about journalism and how to write your weekly school paper. And   27 we are going to try to  28  the joy of good literature (文學). Maybe some of us will be really   29   in reading and writing. A man who reads 30 a happy life. A man who doesn’t read  31  on the earth with a blindfold(眼罩). If I have to put all my  32  into a single word, it would be: ‘browse(廣泛瀏覽)’”. Mr. Stone went on like that,  33 in a friendly and understanding tone. The 34  of the class came much too soon. And we boys had to 35  the classroom with an unexpected feeling of excitement.
【小題1】A waiting  B. looking       C. asking     D. calling

Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new  1  in high school.
2 , high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts(選拔賽)for cheerleaders(啦啦隊隊員). She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be      3  for her to be selected. Two hours later, the 4   read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart 5   as the list ended without her name. Feeling  6 , she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework.
Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was 7  . She moved on to English and history, and was8   to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those subjects. Feeling better, she decided not to  9  math for the time being.
The next day Jenna went to see Mrs. Biden about being on the school    10  . Mrs. Biden wasn’t as 11   as Jenna. “I’m sorry, but we have enough 12   for the newspaper already. Come back next year and we’ll talk then.” Jenna smiled 13  and left. “Why is high school so  14  ?” she sighed.
Later in 15  class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much  16  . By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to 17   at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to  18 . High school was just as her mom had said: “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond  19 a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the   20  fish you can be.”

I was driving around downtown one afternoon in the winter. I   1  a red light and stopped. As I was   2 , I saw a young guy standing on my left. He was   3  in the face and holding a cardboard sign with some   4  on it. When you’re in the heart of downtown, it’s pretty   5  to see homeless people asking for   6 . Generally, I would pass them, but this time when I glanced over the sign, I   7 . 
I can’t remember what the sign said exactly, but it was something like: “  8  money / food, have stomach cancer, homeless, anything helps.”
I didn’t know why, but for some   9  this particular sign struck me. The   10  had just turned green, and there was a line of lunch rush hour traffic behind me. I went back and forth in my    11  a hundred times in that next   12  about whether I should do something. “Should I help?  13  on? Should I do something?”
I didn’t. I did nothing.
The traffic moved  14 , and I went with it. About a block（街區(qū)）or two away, my heart had sunk simply for this guy. I felt so   15  for him. So, I decided to go back and ask him  16  I could buy him lunch and hear his story.
It took me about five minutes to   17  and back on to the same street where I had seen him. It was just five minutes — but he was   18 .
“Where did he go so fast?” I wondered. So, there was   19  left to do except drive on. 
If you get a special nudge（想做的事）from inside you,   20  consider acting on it. Don’t miss out — for yourself and for that other person.

When I was six years old, my parents and I were in London for a one-month vacation. One day when my mother and I were   36  down Oxford Street, I felt too   37  to walk any more, so I asked my mother to take the subway.
At first, she    38  to take it because she said the weather was very    39  and it was better to walk. I started    40  . She told me to stop immediately, but I didn’t pay attention to what she was    41 . For about an hour, I didn’t stop crying. My mother became very   42 with me. I didn’t stop. I just ran away from her. I ran as    43 as I could.
The street was really crowded, so she couldn’t    44  me. Then, I entered one of the biggest shops. There was a coffee house on the second floor. I went    45 , sat in a chair, and started crying again. All of the people in the coffee shop came around me. They were   46 to me, but I didn’t understand English at all. After that, they    47  the police station, and a policeman came to the coffee shop. He tried to talk to me, but I just    48  crying. Then he took the small bag that I was    49  , opened it and found my hotel address and     50  number. When he phoned the hotel, my    51  answered the phone.
In the end, the policeman took me to the    52 . My father was standing in front of the hotel door. He talked to the policeman, and then he asked me what had    53  and where my mother was. I told him everything, and I also told him that I was    54  that my mother was very angry with me.
When my mother came back, she was crying. But when she saw me, she hugged me and kissed me. She talked to my father about everything.    55  of them told me not to do anything like that in the future because maybe one day I wouldn’t find anyone to help me. They wouldn’t forgive me if I did it again.